Programme Profiles and the Reform of Higher Education in Europe: The Role of Tuning Europe

  • Luigi F. Donà dalle Rose University of Padova, Italy
  • Guy Haug Valencia University of Technologys, Spain
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/tjhe-1(1)-2013pp203-222
Keywords: Bologna process, competences, curriculum development, employability, Europe, higher education reform, learning outcomes, modernisation of higher education, programme profiling, quality assurance, tuning

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the profiling of higher education programmes in Europe as part of the overall process of higher education reform in Europe over the past decade (2000-2012) and of the role of Tuning in this process. The article starts with a recall of the architecture and objectives of the change process, based on the interplay between the intergovernmental Bologna process (with a main focus on structural change), the European Union’s parallel Agenda for the Modernisation of Higher Education (with a focus on policy change for the Union’s main objectives: growth and jobs, mobility, recognition and attractiveness) and Tuning. The second part of the article provides some data about and examples of the method and importance of Tuning in stimulating and shaping the renovation of higher education programmes, with a focus on Tuning’s initial geographical area (Europe) and a glimpse to other continents, in line with Europe’s need to build up the visibility and attractiveness of its universities in the rest of the world. The final section is a retrospective and analytical reflection about the impact of Tuning on some key dimensions of the agenda for the modernisation of higher education in Europe; while acknowledging that the Tuning method and principles have not always been fully understood by higher education as well as governmental institutions, Tuning has made an outstanding contribution to such key aspects as the relevance, comparability and quality of programmes, the development of quality assurance and accreditation policies and agencies and the recognition of qualifications — both within Europe and with partner countries in other parts of the world.

Published online: 4 July 2014

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Luigi F. Donà dalle Rose, University of Padova, Italy

Luigi F. Donà dalle Rose is, since 2004, a member and expert of the Italian Team of Bologna Experts. He was professor at the University of Padova (Italy) from 1980-2011. His research activities cover mainly: band theory of metals, quantum electron gas, heat transients by ultra-short laser pulses, solid-liquid metal interface. Since 1995 he took interest in Physics education. He taught Statistical Mechanics; Solid State Physics, Many Body theory; Quantum Mechanics. From 1990 to 2011, Professor Donà dalle Rose was Delegate of the Rector for European Student Mobility at the University of Padova. He was co-founder and member of the Steering Committee of the Socrates TNP-Thematic Network Project for Physics and member of the Coimbra Group Executive Board 2007-2013. Professor Donà dalle Rose was also a member of the Management Committee of the Tuning Project and co-Chair of the Tuning Physics Subject Area Group (2000-2008) in Europe. He holds a “Laurea in Fisica” from the University of Padova (1964).

Guy Haug, Valencia University of Technologys, Spain

Guy Haug is a European expert on higher education policy in an international setting. He is currently advisor on institutional and international development to the Rector (and Rector’s team) of the Valencia University of Technology, Spain, where he is involved in various projects related to accreditation, communication, internationalisation, and mobility. Dr. Haug also is an advisor to governments, international organisations, QA agencies and higher education networks. From 1998 to 2001 he was the main architect of the “Bologna Process”. From 2001 to April 2006, he was Advisor to the European Commission (Directorate for Education) for the creation of an agenda for university modernisation as part of the EU’s Lisbon Strategy for the knowledge era. Until 1998, Dr. Haug was Director General at the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), New York/ Paris. He holds a PhD in Political Science (Tübingen, Germany) and a Doctorate Honoris Causa from HETAC (Ireland).

References

Butler, John, Kieran Corcoran, Tomasz Kubikowski, and Truus Ophuysen, eds. Tapping into the Potential of Higher Arts Education in Europe, InterArtes Handbook. Amsterdam / Warsaw: European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA), 2008.

Commission of the European Communities. “Delivering on the Modernisation Agenda for Universities: Education, Research, and Innovation.” Communication from the Commission, COM(2006) 208 final, 16. Brussels: European Union, 2006. http://ec.europa.eu/euraxess/pdf/COM(2006)_208.pdf.

_____. “Mobilising the Brainpower of Europe: Enabling Universities to Make Their Full Contribution to the Lisbon Strategy.” Communication from the Commission, COM (2005) 152 final, 12. Brussels: European Union, 2005. http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/2010/doc/comuniv2005_en.pdf.

_____. “Report on Progress in Quality Assurance in Higher Education.” Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, COM(2009) 487 final, 11. Brussels: European Union, 2009. http://ec.europa.eu/education/higher-education/doc/report09_en.pdf.

ERASMUS Network for Music ‘Polifonia’. http://www.polifonia-tn.org/.

European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA). “Tuning Document for Film/ Screen Arts Education.” EIA, http://www.elia-artschools.org/images/activiteiten/20/files/Tuning%20document%20film%20EN.pdf.

González, Julia. “Tuning Sectoral Framework for Social Sciences. Final Report, Public Part.” Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency of the European Commission, 2008. http://www.unideusto.org/tuningeu/images/stories/sectoral_framework/2007_10347_FR_Tuning_SQF_PUBLIC_PART.pdf.

González, Julia, and Robert Wagenaar, eds. Tuning Educational Structures in Europe. Universities’ Contribution to the Bologna Process. An Introduction. 2nd ed. Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, 2008.

Lokhoff, Jenneke, Bas Wegewijs, Katja Durkin, Robert Wagenaar, Julia González, Ann Katherine Isaacs, Luigi F. Donà dalle Rose, and Mary Gobbi, eds. A Guide to Formulating Degree Programme Profiles. Bilbao, Groningen, and The Hague: Universidad de Deusto, 2010.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “Higher Education and Adult Learning. Testing Student and University Performance Globally: OECD’s AHELO.” OECD, http://www.oecd.org/education/highereducationandadultlearning/testingstudentanduniversityperformancegloballyoecdsahelo.htm.

Tuning Project. Tuning Sectoral Qualifications Frameworks for the Humanities and the Arts. Final Report 2010-2011. Bilbao: University of Deusto, 2012.

Published
2014-04-07
How to Cite
Donà dalle Rose, Luigi F., and Guy Haug. 2014. “Programme Profiles and the Reform of Higher Education in Europe: The Role of Tuning Europe”. Tuning Journal for Higher Education 1 (1), 203-22. https://doi.org/10.18543/tjhe-1(1)-2013pp203-222.
Issue
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2013): New profiles for new societies
Section
Articles

Authors are required to sign and submit a copyright transfer agreement after acceptance but before publication of their manuscript. To that effect, they receive, from the Managing Editor of Tuning Journal for Higher Education, a standard copyright assignment form designed along the following lines:

1. Authorship:

The author who signs the copyright transfer agreement must be the sole creator of the work or legally acting on behalf of and with the full agreement of all the contributing authors.

2. Copyright and Code of conduct:

a) Authors warrant that their work is original; has not been previously copyrighted or published in any form; is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; its submission and publication do not violate TJHE Ethical Guidelines for Publication and any codes (of conduct), privacy and confidentiality agreements, laws or any rights of any third party; and no publication payment by the Publisher (University of Deusto) is required.

b) Authors are solely liable for the consequences that may arise from third parties’ complaints about the submitted manuscript and its publication in Tuning Journal for Higher Education (TJHE).

c) Authors grant to the Publisher the worldwide, sub-licensable, and royalty-free right to exploit the work in all forms and media of expression, now known or developed in the future, for educational and scholarly purposes.

d) Authors retain the right to archive, present, display, distribute, develop, and republish their work (publisher's version) to progress their scientific career provided the original publication source (Tuning Journal) is acknowledged properly and in a way that does not suggest the Publisher endorses them or their use of the wortk.

e) Authors warrant that no permissions or licences of any kind will be granted that might infringe the rights granted to the Publisher.

3. Users:

Tuning Journal for Higher Education is an Open Access publication. Its content is free for full and immediate access, reading, search, download, distribution and reuse in any medium or format only for non-commercial purposes and in compliance with any applicable copyright legislation, without prior permission from the Publisher or the author(s). In any case, proper acknowledgement of the original publication source must be made and any changes to the original work must be indicated clearly and in a manner that does not suggest the author’s and or Publisher’s endorsement whatsoever. Any other use of its content in any medium or format, now known or developed in the future, requires prior written permission of the copyright holder.